Nvidia delivers as Fed Chair Warsh keeps his cards close at Jackson Hole…
This week @ 15:37 pm Friday 28th August in London.
Markets:
- FTSE 100 was flat this week at 10,822, as weakness in energy majors on falling oil prices offset gains elsewhere, while investors stayed cautious ahead of Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s Jackson Hole speech.
- S&P 500 rose 0.7% this week to 7,731, supported by a strong earnings beat from Nvidia and steady risk appetite heading into the Jackson Hole symposium.
- Nasdaq Composite rose 1.2% this week to 26,499, led by technology and AI related names after Nvidia’s data centre revenue and guidance beat expectations.
- Euro Stoxx 50 fell 0.3% this week to 5,471, as European investors turned cautious ahead of Warsh’s Jackson Hole address.
Bonds:
- UK 10-year gilt yields rose 1.5bps this week to 5.06%, holding near recent multi-year highs amid the ongoing sell-off in long-dated global government debt.
- US 10-year Treasury yields fell 4.5bps this week to 4.69%, as Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s closely watched Jackson Hole speech flagged continued inflation concerns without committing to explicit forward guidance.
Commodities:
- Brent crude fell 7.5% this week to $87.32/bbl, as easing supply fears around the Strait of Hormuz, including a revenue-sharing arrangement between Iran and Oman and rising Saudi output, offset renewed disruption to Russian energy exports linked to the Ukraine conflict.
- Gold fell 1.3% this week to $4,622/oz, retreating from a three-month high earlier in the week as hawkish-leaning signals ahead of and during Warsh’s Jackson Hole speech, and firmer US rate expectations, weighed on the precious metal.
- Copper rose 1.6% this week to $6.69/lb.
FX:
- GBP/USD fell 0.5% this week to 1.3582, as the US dollar firmed heading into and following Warsh’s Jackson Hole remarks.
- GBP/EUR fell 0.1% this week to 1.1668, broadly stable as both currencies traded in tight ranges ahead of the Jackson Hole symposium.
Macro:
- US: July PCE inflation, the Fed’s preferred gauge, held at an elevated 3.7% year-on-year, keeping inflation concerns in focus ahead of Warsh’s Jackson Hole address.
- US: Fed Chair Kevin Warsh delivered his first Jackson Hole speech since taking over as Chair in May. He avoided committing to forward guidance or a defined reaction function, said this summer’s inflation readings, while better than expected, did not point to meaningfully improved underlying trends, and cautioned against a regime in which markets look primarily to the Fed for trading cues. However, continued to maintain a Hawkish tone.
- Geopolitics: Iran and Oman reached a revenue-sharing agreement over the Strait of Hormuz, though Tehran said this does not guarantee its reopening. Reports of an escalating Russia-Ukraine conflict, including Russian statements that talks with Ukraine had yielded no results, shifted some market attention towards Eastern Europe later in the week.
Company news:
- NVIDIA reported second-quarter fiscal 2026 results on Wednesday, beating consensus on revenue and data centre sales, and guided third-quarter revenue to around $108bn, ahead of the roughly $104bn expected by analysts. Management pointed to continued strong AI infrastructure demand from hyperscale customers.
- No other notable updates from the wider holdings or target list this week.
What we will be keeping an eye on next week…
w/c 31st Aug 2026
- UK: Markets closed Monday 31st August for the August Bank Holiday.
- US: ISM Manufacturing PMI (Tuesday 2nd September) and the August Non-Farm Payrolls report and unemployment rate (Friday 5th September).
- Eurozone: Flash inflation reading (Tuesday 2nd September).
Enjoy the weekend
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